Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has confessed that the Peoples Democratic Party lost the 2020 Ondo State Governorship election due to disunity and division in the party.
Recall that the Independent National Electoral Commission has fixed November 16, 2024, as the date for the Ondo State Governorship election.
According to the party’s timetable, the party’s congress, where its governorship candidate will emerge will be held on Thursday, April 25, 2024.
The sale of expression of interest, nomination forms, and Ad-hoc forms is slated for March 7 – March 21. March 25 is the deadline for the submission of completed expression of interest and Ad-hoc forms. Makinde, stated this on Tuesday during an interactive meeting between critical stakeholders from Ondo State and the National Working Committee at the PDP national headquarters, Wadata Plaza in Abuja.
The governor of Oyo State stressed that they learned valuable lessons from the 2020 Ondo State governorship election, highlighting that while party leaders and members can celebrate success together, failure is hard to handle collectively.
He announced that the party’s ticket won’t be handed over to any aspirant, emphasising that it will be a fierce contest among all contenders. Makinde stated, “We learned from the last governorship election. Actually, you learn more when you fail than when you succeed. So we learned bitter lessons.
“For the benefit of everybody, the governorship election in Ondo State is not going to be a walkover for anybody. It will be a fight. As PDP, we will fight. “If, four years ago, we had that division within us that allowed the seat to slip away from us. At this time, we are united and we will stay united to the election. So this is a time for us to come together.
“We may disagree on a few things but from our situation in the Oyo States. Yes, we have disagreements, but we’re solving our problems even as we speak. We’re not solving it outside. We’re solving it right inside the Government House.
“So if you disagree, it’s normal. But let us win the Government House and then all the areas of disagreement we will keep addressing it. We can only share success; failure is hard to share. So, by God’s grace, we shall be victorious in the forthcoming Ondo State governorship election.”
Earlier in his remarks, the acting National Chairman of the PDP, Umar Damagum, urged the governorship aspirants to conduct their campaigns with caution.
He stated “This meeting is part of the fulfillment of the process of the primaries that is before us, and we invited you here so that we’ll have an interactive session.